The NCAA is proposing to eliminate the spring football transfer portal period. (C. Morgan Engel/Getty Images)
A proposal to eliminate the spring transfer portal period in football is working its way through the NCAA’s legislative process.
The NCAA Football Oversight Committee, a group of school administrators that oversees football-related policies, recommended the proposal to the Division I Council this week, sources told Yahoo Sports. If the council adopts the measure, it would take effect this season and eliminate the 15-day portal period in April. The DI council would meet by video conference next month and in person in October. It would be unusual but not unprecedented for the council to reject an oversight committee recommendation.
The big four conferences and the American Football Coaches Association support the move, multiple sources familiar with the matter told Yahoo Sports. In February, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey publicly voiced his support for a single football portal.
The change would be significant. Under the proposal, football players would only be able to enter the portal 30 days after the conclusion of their conference championship games, which this year would be from Dec. 9 to Jan. 7. Under the current transfer policy, players could also enter the portal from April 16 to 30.
The proposal would eliminate the April transfer window. If a player enters the portal outside of the established window, he would not be eligible to play immediately at his next school unless he is granted an NCAA waiver. The change comes on the heels of another that would limit the portal period from 45 days to 30 days.
The shortening and possible elimination of the spring transfer period are an attempt to stabilize rosters during a time of high player turnover, which has become much harder to manage as the NCAA and its member states have relaxed transfer restrictions. Many of these changes have been prompted by antitrust lawsuits.
In fact, the settlement of one of those cases, House v. NCAA, could impact the proposal to eliminate the spring training period.
Part of the settlement is a player revenue-sharing model that would create new roster limits (105 in football) and force a reduction in the number of players. Most top conferences have rosters of 120 or more.
Those cuts are expected to happen over the next spring and summer in preparation for the implementation of that model (July 1, 2025). The elimination of the spring portal period could negatively impact players who are cut from teams and cannot immediately play upon transfer.
At meetings over the coming weeks, the DI Council will consider this recommendation and any potential issues that may arise from eliminating the spring period.